Product Description

For almost a quarter of a century, Emilie Barnes has been giving homemaking and time management advice to women. Now she shares over 500 time-saving hints that will help you use your time more wisely, whether it's in shopping, cleaning, organization, finance, travel, or much more.

Publisher's Description

Bestselling author Emilie Barnes (more than 4.8 million total copies sold) has been sharing time and sanitysaving tips with women for years. Now in this easy to use resource, Emilie reveals 500 fabulous ideas to help readers

declutter their lives and homes

stop piling it and start filing it

begin each day with a To Do list

clean efficiently and effectively

tackle projects at home and elsewhere

Every homeowner, bride, mom, and working woman will find the secrets to creating a life that has less mess and more room for what really matters.

ChristianBookPreviews.com

Although Emilie Barnes has titled her book 500 Time Saving Hints for Every Woman, it is primarily targeted at women ages 25 - 45 who are married and have children. However, about a third of the book's advice applies to all women (and men, actually).
Barnes is ruthless in her insistence that women need to de-clutter, pitch paper, fight procrastination, and learn to prioritize. She has systems to accomplish all this. The book's sections focus on getting organized, cleaning more effectively, mastering storage, controlling finances, traveling effortlessly, and maximizing family time. Each section has subsections that provide checklists, tips, and plans for daily operational procedures. Throughout the book, Barnes makes biblical references to wisdom regarding life organization, and she also talks about finding adequate time for prayer, church attendance, and ministry work.
What is most appealing about this book is that it is retro in its advice; that is, it harkens back to a 1950s mentality when children had manners, group activities did not involve technology, families ate dinner together, and fun could be had without having to spend a fortune. Barnes proves that this is still possible, and desirable. As a workshop leader and consultant, Barnes tells stories of women calling her on the phone, in tears, complaining of stress and lack of organization. Barnes tells women they need to set house rules of picking up clutter before bed, doing regular chores, and showing appreciation for what they are provided. She also tells women to use pockets of time instead of complaining about wasted hours. She says to set up folders with five-minute jobs that can be done when sitting in the dentist's office or waiting for children to complete a sports practice. Planning ahead, she insists, will save time and money and reduce frustration.
Barnes is firm in her insistence that women need to be more in control of their lives, but she does not upbraid or lecture. Her tone is that of helping, advising, and coaching. This book is well organized, so that it can be flipped open for quick reminders about shopping tips or inexpensive family activity ideas. It is pragmatic, detailed, and motivating. It convinces women that small, continuous improvements can result in major overall positive life changes.  Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com

Seems to be written by someone who was an organized person and not someone who ever had piles and piles of "stuff" everywhere! There are lots of good ideas but as they say, "It takes one to know one." If you aren't coming from a "messy" state of mind it's kind of hard to relate to the emotions we messy people experience. Maybe that was what was lacking, dealing with the emotional distress that goes along with being disorganized. We're an odd bunch!